Dynamics of European Integration: Power and influence in the negotiation of the EU Constitution

Activity: Presentations, memberships, ownership and other activitiesOther

Description

The EU has in the last twenty-five years been in a process of almost continual revision of its founding constitutional order; the EU Treaties. The EU in so-called Intergovernmental Conferences (IGCs) has adopted major changes to both the range of polices dealt with at the EU while also deepening cooperation by strengthening EU powers. All governments have to approve the final revisions by unanimous vote, making all governments in principal equal. However, are all governments equal? Or have major revisions of the EU treaties been decided by the Franco-German motor? Have smaller states played a role? How and when can the EU Commission or European Parliament play an influential role? The lecture will conclude by debating the implications of the findings for current discussions on revising the EU Treaties to deal with the eurocrisis.
Period8 Mar 2012
Held atCentral European University, Hungary